Open Back Junction Box and Method for Pre-fab Wiring

ABSTRACT

A bracket and open back junction box assembly allows simplified wiring at a construction site. An open back junction box including a detachable and reattachable rear cover plate is pre-assembled with a plaster ring, electrical device, and leads, at a prefab facility. A Metal Clad (MC) cable may be attached to the open back junction box and wires carried in the MC Cable may be connected to the leads. A mounting bracket is generally sandwiched between the open back junction box and the plaster ring for mounting to framing members at the construction site. Following assembly at the prefab facility, the prefab open back junction box is shipped to the construction site where the bracket and open back junction box assembly is mounted to framing members. Connections to wires carried by MC Cables are then facilitated by removing the rear cover plate to access the open back junction box interior.

The present application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/975,609 filed Sep. 27, 2007 and is aContinuation In Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.'s 12/199,648filed Aug. 27, 2009 and 12/636,519 filed Dec. 11, 2009, whichapplications are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to prefabricated wiring for buildingsunder construction and in particular to a method and apparatus forreducing steps required to be performed at the buildings underconstruction.

Buildings for both residential and commercial use are often constructedusing prefabricated elements to reduce cost and construction time. Suchprefabricated elements include structure, cabinetry, and electrical. Aspart of the prefabricated electrical elements, prefab junction boxassemblies are commonly assembled off-site, shipped to the constructionsite, and integrated into the building. Known prefab box assembliesinclude a junction box, plaster ring, switch or outlet, and wiring. Amounting bracket may be sandwiched or otherwise attached between thejunction box and the plaster ring to facilitate mounting the prefab boxto framing members at the construction site. Wires are connected to theswitch or outlet and are coiled inside the prefab box with wirenuts/connectors over ends of the wires.

The known prefab boxes require disassembly and reassembly at the prefabproduction facility and again at the construction site, includingremoving the plaster ring and electrical device (for example, a switchor an outlet), to access the wires inside the prefab box. Unfortunately,such disassembly and reassembly, and handling of the wires, is oftentime consuming and requires a trained electrician adding cost andschedule penalties to the construction project. Repeated assembly anddisassembly also contributes to broken or loose wires which result inadditional re-work and subsequent costs.

Known prefab boxes further require the use of a “ground-clip” whichwhile approved by UL and the NEC, is not liked by contractors andinspectors. The use of a ground clip also results in interference withother elements of the junction box, for example, some common types ofplaster rings and fittings, and most notably interferes with a two-gangadjustable plaster ring.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing abracket and open back junction box assembly and method which allowssimplified wiring at a prefab production facility and a constructionsite. The open back junction box including a detachable and reattachablerear cover plate is pre-assembled with a plaster ring, electrical device(for example, a switch or an outlet), and leads attached to theelectrical device, at a prefab facility. A Metal Clad (MC) cable and/orElectrical Metal Tubing (EMT) may be attached to the open back junctionbox and wires carried in the MC Cable or EMT may be connected to theleads. A mounting bracket may be sandwiched between the open backjunction box and the plaster ring for mounting to framing members at theconstruction site, or other mounting means may be used. Followingassembly at the prefab facility, the prefab open back junction box isshipped to the construction site where the bracket and open backjunction box assembly is mounted to framing members. Connections towires carried by MC Cables or EMT is then facilitated by removing therear cover plate to access the interior of the open back junction box.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for prefab wiring comprising the steps of constructing a bracketand open back junction box assembly at a prefab production facilityusing the open back junction box having an open rear and an attachablerear cover plate. The bracket and open back junction box assembly isshipped to a construction site and mounted to a framing member. Wiringat the construction site is accomplished through the open rear to accessthe open back junction box interior, connecting MC Cable or EMT to theopen back junction box, connecting wires carried in the MC Cable or EMTto a electrical device attached to the open back junction box, andattaching the rear cover plate to the open back junction box.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided abracket and open back junction box assembly including an open backjunction box having an open back and an attachable rear cover plate forattaching to the open back junction box over the open back. The bracketand open back junction box assembly further includes a plaster ring, amounting bracket sandwiched between the plaster ring and the open backjunction box (or other external mounting means), a switch or an outletattached to the plaster ring, leads attached to the electrical device,labels on each lead identifying each lead, wire nuts/connector residingover free ends of each lead. The bracket and open back junction boxassembly may further include a Metal Clad (MC) cable attached to theopen back junction box and wires carried in the MC Cable or EMTconnected to corresponding ones of the leads.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided an open back junction box having an integral threaded groundscrew receptacle for attachment of a ground screw. The threaded groundscrew receptacle eliminates the need for ground clips which are dislikedby contractors and inspectors and result in interference with otherelements of the junction box, for example, some common types of plasterrings and fittings, and most notably interferes with a two-gangadjustable plaster ring. The integral threaded ground screw receptacleeliminates these disadvantages.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided an open back junction box having a lipless open back. Thelipless open back provides more and easier access to an installer andallows the easier installation of a fire putty pad. The fire putty padapproximately fills the width and height of the open back junction box.A lip reaching inward around the open back would require the installerto bend and manipulate the fire putty pad (which has the consistency ofan asphalt roof shingle) to install the fire putty pad in the back ofthe box. The lipless open back allow easy insertion of the fire puttypad. Further, known manufacturing methods produce a shape edge on thelip which is likely to cut or scrape an installer's hands.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a low cost open back junction box. The open back junction boxmay be manufactured from a single metal stamping having about the samewidth as the depth of the open back junction box. Such constructionreduces costs by about 30 percent compared to costs of known junctionboxes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following more particulardescription thereof, presented in conjunction with the followingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a prior art prefabricated junctionbox assembly including a closed back junction box.

FIG. 2 is a second front perspective view of the prior art prefabricatedjunction box assembly with a plaster ring and outlet separated from thejunction box.

FIG. 3 is a prior art method for prefab wiring including constructingand installing the prior art prefabricated junction box.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a prefabricated open back junctionbox according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the open back junction box with arear cover plate according to the present invention and plaster ringdetached.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a bracket and open back junctionbox assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a bracket and open back junctionbox assembly according to the present invention with the rear coverplate removed and a metal clad (MC) cable or Electrical Metal Tubing(EMT) attached to the open back junction box and wires carried by the MCCable or EMT connected to leads in the open back junction box.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of a bracket and open back junctionbox assembly attached to a frame member.

FIG. 9 is a method according to the present invention for prefab wiringincluding constructing and installing the prefabricated open backjunction box according to the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a first perspective view of the back of the open backjunction box according to the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a second perspective view of the back of the open backjunction box according to the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a front view of the open back junction box according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 11B is a right side view of the open back junction box according tothe present invention.

FIG. 11C is a left side view of the open back junction box according tothe present invention.

FIG. 11D is a top view of the open back junction box according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view the open back junction box accordingto the present invention taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 13 is a metal stamping used to construct the open back junction boxaccording to the present invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding componentsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated forcarrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in alimiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one ormore preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the inventionshould be determined with reference to the claims.

A front perspective view of a prior art prefabricated junction boxassembly 10 is shown in FIG. 1 and a second front perspective view ofthe prior art prefabricated junction box assembly 10 with a plaster ring16 and outlet 14 separated from a junction box 12 is shown in FIG. 2.Commonly used junction boxes 12 have a closed back and any internalwiring requires removing the plaster ring 16 or the outlet/switch 14 toaccess the box interior. The outlet 14 is pre-wired with wires 18 withwire nuts 22 over ends of the wires 18. A grounding pigtail 24 isconnected to the junction box 12 and a grounding wire 26 is connected tothe outlet 14 and connected by a wire nut 22 to the pigtail 24.

FIG. 3 is a prior art method for prefab wiring including constructingand installing the prior art prefabricated junction box. The prior artmethod includes steps performed at a prefab facility and steps performedat a construction site. First, a junction box assembly is assembled at aprefab facility by the steps of connecting appropriate leads to anelectrical device to form a pre-wired electrical device at step 100,connecting wire nuts, spring connectors, or the like to free ends of theleads at step 102, connecting a grounding pigtail (wire) to the junctionbox using a screw or a clip at step 104, connecting the pre-wiredelectrical device to a plaster ring at step 106, attaching protectivecover(s) over exposed face(s) of the electrical device at step 108,connecting grounding wire from the electrical device to the groundingpigtail attached to the junction box using a wire nut, spring connectoror the like at step 110, and sandwiching a mounting bracket between theplaster ring with the electrical device and a junction box to form abracket and junction box assembly at step 112.

If an MC Cable is not to be attached at a prefab facility, skipping tostep 126, if the MC Cable is to be attached at a prefab facility, atstep 114, storing the bracket and junction box assembly for furtheroperations at step 116, disassemble plaster ring with the electricaldevice from bracket and junction box to access junction box interior atstep 118, attaching a first MC Cable carrying first wires to thejunction box through a first factory knock-out with a connector at step120, making wire connections as required using wire nut, springconnector or the like at step 122, re-attaching the plaster ring withthe electrical device to the junction box and bracket so assembly issecure for shipment to job-site at step 124. In either case, shippingthe bracket and junction box assembly to a construction site at step126.

When assembly of the junction box assembly is complete, the followingsteps are carried out at the construction site. Mounting the bracket andjunction box assembly to framing members at step 128, disassembling theplaster ring with the electrical device from the bracket and junctionbox at step 130, attaching a second MC Cable carrying second wires (froma nearby assembly) to the junction box through a second factoryknock-out with a connector at step 132, connecting the second wires tothe electrical device using appropriate leads at step 134, andre-attaching plaster ring with switches or outlet to the junction box atstep 136. Unfortunately, step 132 of attaching a second MC Cablecarrying second wires (from a nearby assembly) to the junction boxthrough a second factory knock-out with a connector, is both difficultand time consuming because of the difficulty of working in the smallspace of the junction box interior with the leads attached to theelectrical device and the wires carried by the MC Cables. Additionally,removing the plaster ring to obtaining better access to the junction boxinterior frees the junction box from the framing member creating furtherpotential problems and repeated assembly and disassembly alsocontributes to broken or loose wires which result in additional re-workand subsequent costs.

A front perspective view of an open back junction box assembly 30according to the present invention without a bracket 36 (see FIGS. 6 and7) is shown in FIG. 4 and an exploded perspective view of the open backjunction box assembly 30 according to the present invention with a rearcover plate 34, and a plaster ring 16 and outlet 14, detached from aopen back junction box 32 with an open back 32 a is shown in FIG. 5. Theopen back junction box assembly 30 is shown with an outlet 14 attachedto the plaster ring 16 but may also have a switch or other electricaldevice attached. Leads 18 are connected to the outlet 14 and labels 20attached to identify each lead. Wire nuts 22 (or alternatively springconnectors or the like) reside over free ends of the leads 20. A fireputty pad 33 may also be inserted into the open back junction box 32where required for “rated” walls. The fire putty pad 33 may be aseparate element or may be attached to a second embodiment of the rearcover plate 34 and the fire putty pad 33 preferably fills the height andwidth of the interior of the open back junction box 32.

A front perspective view of a completed bracket and open back junctionbox assembly 31 according to the present invention, including themounting bracket 36, is shown in FIG. 6 and a rear perspective view ofthe bracket 36 and open back junction box assembly 31 with the rearcover plate 34 (see FIG. 5) removed and a metal clad (MC) cable 38attached to the open back junction box 32 and wires 40 carried by the MCCable 38 connected to leads 18 in the open back junction box 32, areshown in FIG. 7. The bracket 36 is sandwiched between the plaster ring16 and the open back junction box 32. The MC Cable 38 is connected tothe open back junction box 32 through a knock out 28 (also see FIG. 5)and two of the wires 40 enter the open back junction box 32 and areconnected to two of the leads 18 using the wire nuts 22. A ground wire42 carried in the MC Cable 38 is connected to a grounding pigtail 46,which grounding pigtail 46 is connected to the open back junction box32, and to a ground lead 44 connected to the outlet 14, all connected bythe wire nut 22. The bracket and open back junction box assembly 31 maybe assembled at the prefab production facility with or without the MCCable 38 and wires 40, and more than one MC Cable 38 may be similarlyconnected to the open back junction box 32 at the prefab facility.

A front perspective view of the bracket and open back junction boxassembly 31 attached to a frame member 52 is shown in FIG. 8. Thebracket 36 attaches to the frame member 52. A second (or site) MC Cable48 is attached to the open back junction box 32 at the constructionsite, which MC Cable 48 may be the only MC Cable attached to the openback junction box 32. The MC Cable 48 is attached through a knock-out 28(see FIG. 7). The MC Cable 48 carries additional wires 50 which areconnected to corresponding leads 18 inside the box 32 in the same manneras described in FIG. 7, and more than one MC Cable 48 may be similarlyconnected to the open back junction box 32 at the prefab facility. Aprotective cover 15 preferably attached at the prefab facility is shownplaced over the outlet 14 to prevent damage to the outlet 14.

FIG. 9 is a method according to the present invention for prefab wiringincluding constructing and installing the open back junction boxassembly according to the present invention. The method according to thepresent invention includes steps performed at the prefab facility toassembly the open back junction box assembly having an open backjunction box and steps performed at the construction site to install theopen back junction box assembly performing wiring through the open back.First, a open back junction box assembly is assembled at a prefabfacility by the steps of connecting appropriate leads to an electricaldevice to form a pre-wired electrical device at step 140, connectingwire nuts, spring connectors, or the like to the free ends of leads atstep 142, connecting a grounding pigtail (wire) to an open back junctionbox using a screw or clip at step 144, connecting the pre-wiredelectrical device to a plaster ring at step 146, attaching protectivecover(s) over a face of the electrical device at step 148, connecting agrounding wire from the electrical device to the grounding pigtailattached to the open back junction box using either a wire nut, springconnector or the like at step 150, sandwiching a mounting bracketbetween the plaster ring with the electrical device and the open backjunction box to form a bracket and open back junction box assembly atstep 152, checking if an MC Cable will be attached in the off-siteprefab facility at step 154, if the MC Cable will be attached, storingthe bracket and open back junction box assembly for further assembly atstep 156, attaching a first (or prefab) MC Cable carrying first wires tothe open back junction box through a first factory knock-out, with aconnector, working through the open back of the open back junction box,at step 160, and connecting the first wires to corresponding leads andthe grounding pigtail using wire nuts, spring connectors or the like atstep 162. In either case, shipping the bracket and open back junctionbox assembly to a construction site at step 166. While step 160describes attaching a first MC Cable, the method may include attachingtwo or more MC Cables.

When assembly of the open back junction box assembly is complete, thefollowing steps are later performed at the construction site. Mountingthe bracket and open back junction box assembly to framing members atstep 168, checking if a second (or site) MC Cable will be attached tothe open back junction box assembly at the construction site at step 170and skipping past step 176 if the second MC Cable is not being attached.If the second MC Cable is being attached at the construction site,attaching the second MC Cable carrying second wires (usually from anearby open back junction box assembly) to the open back junction boxthrough a second factory knock-out, with a connector, working throughthe open back of the box, at step 172, connecting the second wires tothe appropriate leads and the grounding pigtail at step 174, andre-attaching the rear cover plate to the open back junction box at step176. In some construction sites, for example where “rated” walls arerequired, a fire putty pad may also be easily inserted through the openback of the open back junction box at step 178. While step 172 describesattaching a second MC Cable, the method may include attaching two ormore MC Cables.

A first perspective view of the back of the open back junction box 32according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 10A, a secondperspective view of the back of the open back junction box 32 is shownin FIG. 10B, a front view of the open back junction box 32 is shown inFIG. 11A, a right (viewed from the front) side view of the open backjunction box 32 is shown in FIG. 11B, a left side view of the open backjunction box 32 is shown in FIG. 11C, a top view of the open backjunction box 32 is shown in FIG. 11D, and a cross-sectional view theopen back junction box 32 taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11A is shown inFIG. 12. The open back junction box 32 is constructed from a metalstamping 32′ (see FIG. 13) and is joined at an overlap portion 66. Anintegral threaded ground screw receptacle 64 resides inside the openback junction box 32 and accessible from the front of the open backjunction box 32, and is preferably formed on an edge of the metalstamping 32′. The open back junction box 32 has a width Wi, height H,and depth D. For a two gang box, the width W1 is preferablyapproximately 4.69 inches, the height H is preferably approximately 4.25inches, and the depth D is preferably approximately 2.13 inches. Threegang, four gang, and larger boxes will have a greater width W1.

The open back junction box 32 has four sides, a top side 70 a, a leftside 70 b, a bottom side 70 c, and a right (viewed from the front) side70 d. The sides are substantially parallel having not perceptible taper.The open back junction box 32 preferably includes a lipless back opening72 allowing maximum access to the interior of the open back junction box32.

Corner tabs 62 are formed on diagonally opposed corners of front andrear faces of the open back junction box 32 and have a length L ofpreferably approximately 1.05 inches. The corner tabs 62 on the frontface facilitate attaching the mounting bracket 36 and plaster ring 16 tothe open back junction box 32 and the corner tabs on the rear facefacilitate mounting the detachable rear cover plate 34 to the detachablerear cover plate.

A metal stamping 32′ according to the present invention, used toconstruct the open back junction box 32, is shown in FIG. 13. Thestamping 32 has a width mostly approximately equal to the depth D of theopen back junction box 32, with the exception of provision for thecorner tabs 62. The overall width of the stamping 32′ is approximatelythe depth D plus twice the widths W of the corner tabs, thus providingfor low cost production.

The open back junction box assembly has been described above for useswhere wires are carried to the open back junction box in MC Cables. Inother embodiments of the present invention, wires may be carried to theopen back junction box in any electrical conduit including Rigid MetalConduit (RMC), Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit (RNC), Galvanized rigid conduit(GRC), Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT), Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing(ENT), Flexible Metallic Conduit (FMC), Liquidtight Flexible MetalConduit (LFMC), Flexible Metallic Tubing (FMT), Liquidtight FlexibleNonmetallic Conduit (LNFC), Aluminium conduit, Intermediate metalconduit (IMC), PVC conduit, other metal conduits, and undergroundconduit. Preferred electrical conduits are MC Cable and ElectricalMetallic Tubing (EMT). In these other embodiments, the apparatus andmethods of the present invention, namely working through the open backof a open back junction box, provide benefits similar to wiring using MCCables.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modificationsand variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.

I claim:
 1. An open back junction box assembly comprising: an open backjunction box having an open front for mounting an electrical device andplaster ring, and an open back comprising a single opening about thesame size as the open front and opposite the open front for accepting adetachable rear cover plate; a plaster ring attached to the open backjunction box; an electrical device attached to the plaster ring; firstends of electrical leads attached to the electrical device; labelsproximal to a second end of each electrical lead identifying each lead;and a detachable rear cover plate attachable to the back of the openback junction box over the open back while leaving the second ends ofthe leads inside the junction box and unattached.
 2. The prefab bracketand open back junction box assembly of claim 1, further including anelectrical conduit attached to the open back junction box and carryingwires extending into the open back junction box, the wires attached tothe electrical leads.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, further including afirst end of a grounding pigtail connected to the junction box and afirst end of a grounding wire connected to the electrical device.
 4. Theassembly of claim 3, wherein the second ends of the grounding pigtailand grounding wire reside inside the junction box and unattached.
 5. Amethod for prefab wiring comprising the steps of: obtaining an open backjunction box assembly comprising: an open back junction box having anopen front for mounting an electrical device and plaster ring, and anopen back comprising a single opening opposite the open front foraccepting a detachable rear cover plate; a plaster ring attached to theopen back junction box; an electrical device attached to the plasterring; first ends of electrical leads attached to the electrical device;labels proximal to a second end of each electrical lead identifying eachlead; and a detachable rear cover plate attachable to the back of theopen back junction box over the open back while leaving the second endsof the leads inside the junction box and unattached; and installing thejunction box assembly at a work site without disassembling theelectrical device and mud ring from the junction box assembly, theinstalling including the steps of: mounting the junction box assembly toa framing member; connecting a site electrical conduit to the open backjunction box working through the open back of the open back junctionbox; working through the open back of the open back junction box toconnect site wires carried in the electrical conduit to the second endsof the electrical leads connected to the electrical device attached tothe junction box; and attaching the rear cover plate to the back of theopen back junction box.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the open backjunction box includes a bracket sandwiched between the electrical deviceand plaster ring, and the open back junction box.
 7. The method of claim5, wherein connecting the site wires to the second ends of the leadsthrough the open back of the open back junction box while leaving thefirst ends of the leads attached to the electrical device.
 8. The methodof claim 5, wherein the junction box assembly includes a protectivecover over a face of the electrical device.
 9. The method of claim 5,wherein the junction box assembly includes a prefab electrical conduitattached to the open back box and not detaching the electrical conduitfrom the open back junction box at the work site.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the second ends of the leads opposite the first endsare unterminated, the method further including not detaching the leadsfrom the electrical device at the work site.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the electric conduit is selected from Metal Clad (MC) Cable andElectrical Metal Tubing (EMT).
 12. The method of claim 5, whereininstalling the junction box assembly at a work site further includesinstalling a fire putty pad through the open back of the open backjunction box.
 13. The method of claim 5, wherein attaching the rearcover plate to the back of the open back junction box comprisesattaching the rear cover plate having a fire putty pad attached to theback of the open back junction box.
 14. The method of claim 5, whereinconstructing the junction box assembly includes: attaching labels to theleads proximal to the second ends of the leads to identify the leads.15. The method of claim 5, wherein the open back is about the same sizeopening as the open front.
 16. The assembly of claim 5, wherein thecompleted installation of the junction box assembly performed at thework site is performed without making electrical connections workingthrough the open front of the junction box.
 17. A method forconstructing an open back prefab junction box assembly comprising thesteps of: obtaining an open back junction box assembly comprising: arectangular open back junction box made from a metal stamping formedinto a rectangle and joined at an overlapped portion on one side of theformed open back junction box, the rectangular open back junction boxincluding: four sides, opposite ones of the sides being parallel; anopen front; an integrally formed interior ground screw receptacle; andan open back comprising a single opening about the same size as the openfront and opposite the open front for accepting a detachable rear coverplate; a plaster ring attached to the open front of the open backjunction box; an electrical device attached to the plaster ring oppositethe open back junction box and extending into the interior of the openback junction box; first ends of electrical leads attached to theelectrical device; free ends of each of the electrical leads residinginside the open back junction box; and the detachable rear cover plateattachable to the back of the open back junction box over the open backwhile leaving the free ends of the leads residing inside the junctionbox and unattached; installing the open back junction box assembly at awork site without disassembling the electrical device and mud ring fromthe open back junction box, the installing including the steps of:mounting the open back junction box to a framing member; connecting asite electrical conduit to the open back junction box working throughthe open back of the open back junction box; working through the openback of the open back junction box to connect site wires carried in theelectrical conduit to the second ends of the electrical leads connectedto the electrical device attached to the open back junction box; andattaching the rear cover plate to the back of the open back junctionbox.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the open back junction boxassembly includes a mounting bracket sandwiched between the plaster ringand the open back junction box.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein theopen back junction box assembly includes a grounding pigtail attached tothe open back junction box and a grounding wire connecting the interiorground screw receptacle.